The Premier League title race continues with last weekend’s action keeping everyone on the edge of their seat despite there only being a 4 game weekend.
Plenty of action to look back on with Spurs and Man City both playing over the weekend and every game proves vital at this point in the season with just 5 points to separate the top 5 teams. This combined with games in hand due to cups interrupting league fixtures, has caused a roller coaster of emotions for Premier League fans.
Burnley and Luton drew 1-1 on Friday and both teams still sit in the relegation zone. Chelsea also beat Fulham thanks to another Cole Palmer penalty to clutch the three points. Moreover, the most important result for the table was Man City stealing the three points late on against Newcastle in a 3-2 edge of the seat match. Spurs also drew 2-2 against Manchester United.
Man City had a shaky start at St. James’ Park when Ederson was too cool on the ball and lost it to Almiron but Newcastle couldn’t finish the chance. There was concern shortly after for Ederson who went down holding his leg and Stefan Ortega replaced the Brazilian.
It adds to Manchester City’s injury list, with De Bryune back to the bench and Haaland still out and with the impact Ederson’s distribution has on Pep’s side, its no wonder he looked concerned after the injury.
City grabbed the opener not long after when Jeremy Doku spread it to Walker, who sprayed a low cross to Bernado Silva and he managed to flick it into the far bottom corner. The excellent finish from Silva was just the start City needed in a game vital for their title race. Just 10 minutes later Bruno Guimares set Alexander Isak through on goal, who shifted past Walker and dispatched it past the reach of Ortega.
Newcastle hit Man City on the counter attack just a couple minuets after their first goal and Antony Gordon scored a similar goal to his teammate, just beating Walker and curling it bottom right again past Ederson’s replacement Ortega, who has played in just 4 of City’s league games this season.
Newcastle managed to retain their lead, until Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne came on in the 69th minute. The Belgian midfielder returned from injury and after 5 months of recovering, he was able to score just 5 minuets after coming on. De Bryune darted at the Newcastle defence and with one touch onto his right foot, guided it through Sven Botman’s legs and past the reach of Dubravka.
A touch of pure brilliance from De Bruyne brings both sides level with a goal that could truly change the tide of the Premier League title race. He wasn’t finished there however, after he clips a glorious cross to another substitute and wonderkid Oscar Bobb, who controlled it perfectly and with just another two touches took it round Dubravka and into the net.
It seemed like City were in trouble with Newcastle mostly controlling the game until De Bryune came on and proved why he deserved a standing ovation. The game rounded off a spectacular performance from Pep’s side and proved why the mentality he has drilled into his team could just win them a 4th consecutive league title.
Manchester City were favourites before the season began and their comeback on Saturday proved just why. Whilst the title race remains incredibly intense, rival fans can’t help but express their concern that with De Bryune likely back to his best on return from injury and bagsman Erling Haaland also back in February, Man City can only really improve from here.
King Kevin De Bryune’s return to the Premier League was everything Guardiola could have hoped for, with him being quick to praise the playmaker: “Kevin is a special player and a legend of the club, he is so loved by all the fans at this club. He is a player that has a bit more space and freedom than others in the team. When he is on the ball, we need runners.”
The win is a huge lift for City and Kevin De Bryune with his impact could begin a spectacular run of results that other sides around the top 6 are worried about.
As for the other teams in the race Tottenham were unlucky to only get a point against Manchester United. Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojland were the scorers and whilst United still looked slightly positive, they were still not the better team and Tottenham will be disappointed walking away from Old Trafford with just a point.
This is how the league currently stands:
Man City are now just 2 points behind Liverpool, with both teams going unbeaten in their last 5 Premier League games and although Liverpool sit top, they have a fairly difficult run of league games coming up with Bournemouth next, who haven’t lost in their last 5. They then played Chelsea and Arsenal straight after, enticed with their cup run in both the league cup and FA Cup competition.
Unai Emery has transformed this Aston Villa side this season and they are currently 3rd having played one more than Man City and Liverpool. They certainly have a lot of work to do to stay in the race but with Emery on their side they certainly have the mentality to stay there.
Arsenal have struggled recently with only one win in their last five games and as the season passes half way they need to show some serious signs of improvement to stay in the race. Arteta’s side also face Liverpool on the 4th of Feb, a game that is key to staying in the race and retaining that top spot that City also have their eyes on.
All teams have the potential to stay in the race but City are still expected to win by many fans this is due to the known winning mentality the players have, to constantly come back in games that look lost. This is key to what Guardiola has built with a squad depth other teams in the Premier League don’t have. Moreover, they seem to be the only top side with a killer striker.
Erling Haaland seems to be the only striker who is expected to score in most games and whilst Darwin Nunez and Salah do have the cutting edge, they don’t quite have what Haaland does in front of goal to help them win games. With service from Kevin De Bryune, Manchester City’s attack is nothing short of terrifying.
January will prove to be a huge month that will have a serious effect on the title race if teams in the top 6 can sign those special players that can truly win them the league. With top 4 being this tight, Premier League teams will do all they can to get the signings they need and often teams take big gambles or “panic buy”.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Man United are all after a striker that can really make the difference and two names being mentioned a lot this window are Brentford’s Ivan Toney and Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, with both players being heavily linked to Arsenal and Chelsea.
Arsenal are really lacking a killer forward and to put it bluntly, Kai Havertz will not win them the Premier League. Ivan Toney is a solid option as he is unlikely to stay at Brentford with his ban just being lifted. Toney was key to Brentford finishing 9th last season and he managed to bag 20 league goals last season. He’s an English Prem proven striker who is hungry for goals, what’s not to like?
Chelsea are also after the Brentford forward as Nkunku is currently in and out of injury too much this season, having only played 3 games. Chelsea are very unlikely title contenders, especially if they don’t make signings.
Liverpool are well within the title race too and after having made many successful signings last summer with Domonik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Alexis Macallister, it is unlikely they will make many signings this January. Their squad is still pretty strong though, with Szoboszlai back by the end of the month and Trent Alexander-Arnold expected back by mid Feb. However, with Robertson out for another few months they will likely need a left back with similar ability as Robertson to come in, even if just on loan.
League favourites Manchester City will likely sign no big names this season and Pep seems happy with the squad he has got, aside from Kalvin Phillips, who is linked to Newcastle, Crystal Palace and Newcastle. The English midfielder simply hasn’t had the game time since the move from Leeds and whilst Pep has publicly apologised for the situation, it seems his time is up in Manchester.
With the excellent squad depth Manchester City have and true lack of injuries aside from Ederson, it seems they are likely solid favourites and unless some serious business is done by Arsenal, the only true challengers will remain Liverpool, who currently sit at top but fans are confident it won’t stay this way for too long with Manchester City breathing down their back.
We look forward to an exciting end to the season and fans hope to see an upset with the league, having seen City win it the last 3 years.
